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This section is for discussions with other women who have probably been through the same signs/symptoms that you may be experiencing. Please note, we cannot offer medical advice and encourage members to discuss their concerns with their doctors. New members, come on in and introduce yourself!

Thanks, ladies! Lauren, I'm glad they're watching closely, too! DH is irritated with my OB and thinks he's an alarmist since I didn't end up getting admitted and induced early. I told him that it's better for the OB to OVERreact than UNDERreact, but I don't think he agrees. Mostly because things seem to be okay. I imagine he wouldn't be saying so if I were having the baby now or stuck in the hospital...or God forbid something worse. Grr.

As far as monitoring my BP at home, no, I haven't been doing that. I have checked it randomly when out and about, like at Walgreen's or Wal-mart, and it's never been over 120/80 then. Peri hasn't suggested doing so, but I have an appointment with my OB on Friday, so I may ask about it then.

I suppose that you're correct that my kidney function isn't really that good, considering how much protein I'm spilling, but I guess what I meant was that they didn't think it was due to any underlying condition and that the bloodwork wasn't showing anything that warrants immediate action. I did not know that if my protein got that high that it's something that you could be induced for, though of course it makes sense. Hopefully, my levels won't keep rising and I can dodge that outcome.

I developed HELLP without high blood pressure, not sure what protein would have been- it got too severe too quickly to do a 24 hour urine- but no trace on dip tests. They only caught it b/c I was in severe enough pain to go to the hospital, they did bloodwork, it was mostly normal, but then they redid it 6 hours later and it was clearly getting ugly fast, platelets dropped by 100,000, liver enzymes went from slightly elevated to more than doubling. I did not feel worse, and my blood pressure was still normal. So watch out for any upper right quadrant pain as well.

Pre-e can do funky things and can present differently from person to person and even pregnancy to pregnancy.

My non-doctor guess is it's hitting your kidneys first. (With my hellp, their explanation was it hit my liver first.) That's a very high amount of protein, diagnostic for pre-e is 300 mg. I think it's good they are watching you closely. Are you monitoring you blood pressure on your own at home? With that much protein and a history of pre-e, I think it would be a good idea if you aren't already.

Glad you are in good hands... your kidney's aren't functioning all that well because you're spilling a lot of protein. A friend of mine was recently induced when her protein topped 5000 even though her BP was managed, and actually pretty low. I'm sure a momma with more experience will chime in, but I do believe inducing for protein is when it goes over 5000, because it can result in permanent kidney damage- and given that you're already 35 weeks.

Hello! As the title says, I am squeaky new here. I am 36, and am currently exactly 35 weeks pregnant with baby number six. My last pregnancy seven years ago did end with me being induced a couple of days early because I developed pre-eclampsia, so my (first) midwife and now OB have been watching carefully for signs this time around. At about 24 weeks, I came in for my monthly appointment with my midwife, and saw that my BP had crept up again, this time to almost 140/100, up from 120/80 at previous visit and high 90something/70ish initially pre-pregnancy. Dipstick showed +2 for protein in my urine, and I seemed to be having at least some mild hyperreflexia. So I did a 24 hour catch, and everything came back...normal. Totally normal. BP went back down, etc. I was told to take it easy and that the heat and the stress from my then upcoming move had probably contributed, though my midwife said she was pretty confused by this outcome. Moved to my new town and started seeing my new OB. First visit went great. BP totally normal at 100/80, etc. Next visit resulted in another high dipstick test but still normal BP. OB asked me to do another 24 hour collection.

Meanwhile, I am swelling quite a lot, to the point that even compression socks can't contain things, but I live in the Midwest, where we've been having a horrible drought and high temperatures, which no doubt did not help matters on that front. But my 24 hour catch came back with very high (says my OB) protein of about 1900. He refers me to a perinatologist and suggests that I may have to be admitted and begin steriod shots. He also says he's really confused and says that, quote, "You're breaking all the rules," meaning I guess not presenting typically for pre-e? Needless to say, I completely freaked out! Went to the peri, my BP is still normal, my swelling has gone down, etc.They don't admit me, but I do yet another protein catch, and it's elevated *more* to 2300. That was yesterday. Baby girl looks great and is only a little small, but as I am petite and she's 36%, they're not too worried about her growth. But I still have to come in twice a week, once with the peri and once with my OB. All my other labs come back within normal ranges. My kidney function and liver function is fine. As of right now, my swelling is completely gone, and other than some fatigue and other late pregnancy aches and pains, am feeling okay. No headaches, sparklies in the vision, nausea or abdominal pain. I am not dehydrated and am now on a high-protein diet. BP still extremely normal. They thought there might be something wrong with my kidneys, but no. And I guess maybe I could still develop pre-eclampsia, but since my labs seem to be all over the place, I'm wondering if it's something they're going to catch in time without a corresponding rise in my BP, which has remained steady at about 105/80ish aside from that initial increase in the second trimester. They're watching me and baby closely, so I probably shouldn't worry, but I find the whole thing very confusing. Apparently, they don't understand what's going on, either. It's like being in some kind of medical no-man's land where I have this weirdly high protein, but no other symptoms, or at least none that stick around or get worse. Anyone else experience something like this and have it develop into pre-e, or have it turn out that pre-e never developed? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the length/rambly nature of this post!